The Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of Blade has had a long, rough ride through the development process, and as of right now it doesn’t even have a director attached (Jeymes Samuel, a.k.a. The Bullitts, who previously directed the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall and the Biblical dramedy The Book of Clarence, was recently rumored for the job, but he said there was no truth to the rumor). So there probably weren’t many Marvel fans who were expecting the movie to stick with its November 7, 2025 release date – and therefore, few will be surprised or disappointed to hear that Blade has indeed been bumped out of 2025. Deadline reports that Disney will be releasing 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands on November 7, 2025 instead of Marvel’s vampire slayer movie.

The fact that there was going to be a Blade reboot as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Mashershala Ali in the title role, came as a huge surprise when the announcement was made at the San Diego Comic-Con back in July of 2019… but we’ve passed the five year anniversary of that announcement, and there’s still no sign that Blade will be filming any time soon. The closest we’ve gotten is Ali making a vocal cameo as the character at the end of Eternals back in 2021. We recently heard a rumor that Ali is getting “increasingly frustrated” with the long development process on this one. Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have been cast alongside Ali as the years have gone by, but are no longer involved, as their characters have apparently been written out. Co-star Mia Goth, who is rumored to be playing the villainous Lilith, is still attached – and she has said that she’s fine with the delays, because it shows that Marvel really cares about the project. Two directors, Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, have dropped out along the way.

As for Predator: Badlands, this one is coming our way from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, making him the first filmmaker to take the helm of two films in the Predator franchise. Trachtenberg crafted the story, which was then fleshed out into a screenplay by Prey screenwriter Patrick Aison.

According to a casting call, Predator: Badlands has the following synopsis: A groundbreaking film in which one of the two main storylines delves into the intricate bond of two very different sisters, their familial ties are put to the ultimate test as they pursue divergent paths and missions. We’ve previously heard that the story is set sometime in the future.

The casting call was searching for a lead actress who could take on the dual role of twin sisters Thia and Tessa: This casting is for a dual character, and describes both characters. Character identifies as female or non-binary, open ethnicity, mid 20s – mid 40s. Thia has spent most of her life in a laboratory and is now embarking on her first big adventure in the world. She is incredibly smart, witty, enthusiastic, and unflappable. She has an innate disregard for danger, not because she’s fearless, but simply because she’s naive. Strong comedy chops required. // The other sister, Tessa, has a militant intensity when it comes to achieving her family’s goals and mission objectives. She will not let anything get in her way, not even her twin sister.

Super 8‘s Elle Fanning stars in the film, which went into production in New Zealand earlier this year.

What do you think of Predator: Badlands bumping Blade out of its November 2025 release date? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

While taking Blade off of their schedule, Disney revealed that they have scheduled three untitled Marvel movies for release on February 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and November 10, 2028.

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James Mangold is no stranger to the musical biopic, having brought Johnny Cash’s story to the big screen with Walk the Line, which got Joaquin Phoenix an Academy Award nomination for that film. Now, Mangold takes on another musical icon with the Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. Searchlight Pictures has now released a comprehensive look with the new trailer, as it shows more of Timothée Chalamet‘s performance and the events of Dylan’s life that will be explored.

A Complete Unknown, which stars Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro. The film also co-stars Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz and Scoot McNairy, with the studio also giving it a December 25th wide release. Given how well Chalamet’s Wonka did during the holiday season last year, the studio is likely hoping that lightning will strike twice. The date also gives is peak visibility during award season.

Here’s the official synopsis: “Set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60s, A Complete Unknown follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan’s (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts – his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation – culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.”

James Mangold directs from a screenplay written by him and Jay Cocks, who is known for working with Martin Scorsese on projects such as Gangs of New York and Silence. Producers on the film include Range’s Fred Berger, The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman, Veritas Entertainment Group’s Peter Jaysen, Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer, Bob Dylan’s longtime representative Jeff Rosen, Chalamet, and Mangold via his Turnpike Films. Michael Bederman, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and Andrew Rona are on board as executive producers.

Mangold recently talked about the setting of the film, saying,  “It’s such an amazing time in American culture, and the story of Bob’s — a young, 19-year-old Bob Dylan coming to New York with two dollars in his pocket and becoming a worldwide sensation within three years…First being embraced into a family of folk music in New York and of course kind of outrunning him at a certain point as his star rises so beyond belief.”

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A number of musical biopics are coming our way. There will be Jeremy Allen’s Bruce Springsteen movie. We also have Sam Mendes’ making four Beatles films. Ridley Scott will be telling the tale of the Bee Gees and it was recently announced that a Boy George biopic is being planned for a release. Not to mention, there’s a Michael Jackson movie set to come out and Madonna announced that she’s giving her autobiographical script another go-around. This Christmas, James Mangold will bring us Bob Dylan’s story with A Complete Unknown and the poster has just been released from Searchlight Pictures.

A Complete Unknown, which stars Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro. The film also co-stars Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz and Scoot McNairy, with the studio also giving it a December 25th wide release. Given how well Chalamet’s Wonka did during the holiday season last year, the studio is likely hoping that lightning will strike twice. The date also gives is peak visibility during award season.

Here’s the official synopsis: “Set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60s, A Complete Unknown follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan’s (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts – his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation – culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.”

James Mangold directs from a screenplay written by him and Jay Cocks, who is known for working with Martin Scorsese on projects such as Gangs of New York and Silence. Producers on the film include Range’s Fred Berger, The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman, Veritas Entertainment Group’s Peter Jaysen, Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer, Bob Dylan’s longtime representative Jeff Rosen, Chalamet, and Mangold via his Turnpike Films. Michael Bederman, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and Andrew Rona are on board as executive producers.

Mangold recently talked about the setting of the film, saying,  “It’s such an amazing time in American culture, and the story of Bob’s — a young, 19-year-old Bob Dylan coming to New York with two dollars in his pocket and becoming a worldwide sensation within three years…First being embraced into a family of folk music in New York and of course kind of outrunning him at a certain point as his star rises so beyond belief.”

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Back in February, it was announced that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg would become the first filmmaker to take the helm of two films in the Predator franchise, as he was moving ahead with a new Predator film titled Badlands, working from a screenplay by Prey screenwriter Patrick Aison (based on a story crafted by Trachtenberg himself), with filming expected to begin this summer. In June, it was revealed that Super 8‘s Elle Fanning had been cast in the film. Now, the folks at AVPGalaxy have learned that Badlands is currently in production in New Zealand, filming under the codename Backpack, and they’ve gotten their hands on a casting call that reveals some details about the project!

According to this casting call, Predator: Badlands has the following synopsis: A groundbreaking film in which one of the two main storylines delves into the intricate bond of two very different sisters, their familial ties are put to the ultimate test as they pursue divergent paths and missions. We’ve previously heard that the story is set sometime in the future.

The casting call was searching for a lead actress who could take on the dual role of twin sisters Thia and Tessa: This casting is for a dual character, and describes both characters. Character identifies as female or non-binary, open ethnicity, mid 20s – mid 40s. Thia has spent most of her life in a laboratory and is now embarking on her first big adventure in the world. She is incredibly smart, witty, enthusiastic, and unflappable. She has an innate disregard for danger, not because she’s fearless, but simply because she’s naive. Strong comedy chops required. // The other sister, Tessa, has a militant intensity when it comes to achieving her family’s goals and mission objectives. She will not let anything get in her way, not even her twin sister.

The casting call notes that filming would be taking place in New Zealand from late June through September. As for the physical requirements of the actress, “Must be comfortable training for heavy action/combat, must also be comfortable wearing prosthetics/heavy makeup, and MUST be 5’8” or shorter.” It seems likely that Elle Fanning has been cast as Thia and Tessa, even though she’s not 5’8″ or shorter. Fanning is reportedly 5’9″. Close enough?

AVPGalaxy has heard that Badlands has been filming in Rotorua and Te Kuiti, and will be heading to South Head next.

What do you think of the Predator: Badlands details revealed on the casting call? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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James Mangold is no stranger to the musical biopic, having brought Johnny Cash’s story to the big screen with Walk the Line, which got Joaquin Phoenix an Academy Award nomination for that film. Now, Mangold takes on another musical icon with the Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. There has been a more abstract attempt at telling Dylan’s story with Todd Haynes’ 2007 film I’m Not There, which featured an all-star cast and multiple actors playing Bob Dylan in a different phase of his life with a unique interpretation, including Cate Blanchett sporting his iconic look. Searchlight Pictures has dropped the trailer for A Complete Unknown, which stars Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro. The film also co-stars Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz and Scoot McNairy, with the studio also giving it a December 25th wide release. Given how well Chalamet’s Wonka did during the holiday season last year, the studio is likely hoping that lightning will strike twice. The date also gives is peak visibility during award season.

Here’s the official synopsis: “Set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60s, A Complete Unknown follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan’s (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts – his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation – culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.”

James Mangold directs from a screenplay written by him and Jay Cocks, who is known for working with Martin Scorsese on projects such as Gangs of New York and Silence. Producers on the film include Range’s Fred Berger, The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman, Veritas Entertainment Group’s Peter Jaysen, Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer, Bob Dylan’s longtime representative Jeff Rosen, Chalamet, and Mangold via his Turnpike Films. Michael Bederman, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and Andrew Rona are on board as executive producers.

Mangold recently talked about the setting of the film, saying,  “It’s such an amazing time in American culture, and the story of Bob’s — a young, 19-year-old Bob Dylan coming to New York with two dollars in his pocket and becoming a worldwide sensation within three years…First being embraced into a family of folk music in New York and of course kind of outrunning him at a certain point as his star rises so beyond belief.”

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Elle Fanning (The Great, The Neon Demon, Super 8) could be trading her bustle for survival gear after being in talks to join the cast of Dan Trachtenberg’s standalone Predator film Badlands. Deadline says Fanning is negotiating for the role in the highly anticipated film, which Trachtenberg is directing and co-writing with Patrick Aison.

Anticipation for Trachtenberg’s Prey follow-up is through the roof. Prey was a surprise smash hit of 2022, with Trachtenberg and star Amber Midthunder arguably delivering the best Predator movie since the 1987 classic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Plot details for Badlands remain a mystery, as do the film’s release plans. Prey premiered exclusively on Hulu to record numbers during the pandemic. However, 20th Century Studios is going hard in the paint with its extraterrestrial action flicks and the upcoming Alien: Romulus coming to theaters. It would not be surprising to see Badlands debuting on the silver screen alongside the Xenomorph threat.

In addition to Elle Fanning possibly joining the cast of Badlands, a new Alien game called Alien Rogue Incursion was previewed at Sony Playstation’s latest State of Play presentation. The single-player action game launches during the 2024 Holiday window on Steram, the PlayStation VR2, and Meta Quest 3. The VR-based first-person shooter finds players hunted by a vicious Xenomorph in a claustrophobic environment on Purdan. Players use pulse rifles and other iconic weapons to survive the onslaught, with Xenomorphs spawning in the shadows, looking to make a meal out of anyone dumb enough to stand in their way.

Speaking of video games, Elle Fanning stars in Hideo Kojima’s upcoming sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. She joins Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Troy Baker, Shioli Kutsuna, Jonathan Roumie, Kevin Ko, Krishna Kumar, Marty Rhone, and Joseph Anthony DePronio II for the anticipated, narratively-baffling follow-up to the 2019 original.

Meanwhile, Elle Fanning is currently filming Going Electric for director James Mangold. The story revolves around the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, where a young Bob Dylan shakes up his act on the folk music scene by going electric and siring rock as the voice of a generation.

Are you excited about Elle Fanning joining the cast of Dan Trachtenberg’s Badlands? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Son of a bitch. What’s the opposite of Huzzah? Deadline reports that Hulu has canceled The Great after three seasons. The series was a satirical black comedy-drama that chronicled the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest-reigning female ruler in Russia’s history. Equal parts bizarre, touching, and downright hilarious, The Great has been one of my favourite recent series so it’s tough to see it go.

The Great starred Elle Fanning as Catherine and Nicholas Hoult as Emperor Peter III, her depraved and dangerous husband. The third season was released on Hulu in May and, like the previous two, received critical acclaim.

Here’s the official logline for The Great season 3: “Catherine and Peter attempt to make their marriage work after some seemingly insurmountable problems. Peter witnessed his own attempted murder at Catherine’s hands and she also imprisoned all of his friends. On top of this, Peter is at a loose end playing First Husband to Catherine’s reign, so he busies himself with fathering, hunting and salty culinary ventures. But they’re not enough to keep him contented as visions of his late father, get in his head about his failures as Peter the Great’s son. Catherine the Great starts making a name for herself beyond her borders and inspired by a visit from the US ambassador, sets up a conference where peasants, nobles and merchants can all give their input on developing a new Russia. She learns that even the best political leaders sometimes need to make compromises in order to progress.“

Series creator Tony McNamara had told The Hollywood Reporter’s TV’s Top 5 podcast in 2021 that he didn’t know exactly how long the series would last. “I know a whole bunch of events that are interesting that you can hang things on,” McNamara said. “At the moment, I try not to look too far ahead. At the end of season two, I didn’t quite know what season three was. I like not knowing what comes next. If you have a show with a great ensemble and a great bunch of characters, you can invent as you go for a while.“

While it’s a bummer that The Great has been canceled, the third season did provide would could be seen as a natural end point. Is there more story that could be told? Definitely, but it didn’t exactly leave things hanging and it shouldn’t stop you from watching the series.

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Two of the most enigmatic actresses of our time, Elle Fanning (The Great, Maleficent) and Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story, Ratched), will lead Mirrah Foulkes’ new film project, I Am Sybil. Foulkes directs from a script she co-wrote with Jen Silverman, recreating the true story of Sybil, one of the first widely recognized cases of dissociative identity disorder (formerly called multiple personality disorder).

Sybil was the name given to Shirley Mason, who, in a study conducted by Flora Rheta Schreiber, examined Mason’s treatment for MPD by psychologist Connie Wilbur. The forthcoming film draws inspiration from Debbie Nathan‘s 2011 novel Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case, examining flaws in Schreiber’s findings.

We don’t know who Fanning and Paulson play in Foulkes’ film project, but sources say Fanning plays Mason while Paulson plays Wilbur. I Am Sybil is not the first cinematic retelling of Mason’s story. Sally Field and Joanne Woodward starred in the four-time Emmy-winning adaptation Sybil, while Tammy Blanchard, Jessica Lange, and JoBeth Williams starred in another version of the same story for CBS in 2007.

Dissociative identity disorder is characterized by “switching” to alternate identities. People afflicted with DID often feel like two or more people are sharing their thoughts. In some cases, another personality overtakes the dominant one, as if the primary person is asleep and has been replaced. According to the Mayo Clinic, people experiencing dissociative identity disorder feel a disconnection and lack of continuity between thoughts, memories, surroundings, actions, and identity. People with dissociative disorders escape reality in involuntary and unhealthy ways and cause problems with functioning in everyday life.

Dissociative disorders usually develop as a reaction to trauma and help keep difficult memories at bay. Symptoms — ranging from amnesia to alternate identities — depend in part on the type of dissociative disorder you have. Times of stress can temporarily worsen symptoms, making them more obvious.

Are you familiar with Mason’s case? Are Fanning and Paulson fascinating choices to bring Sybil’s unique story to contemporary audiences? Let us know if you’re looking forward to I Am Sybil in the comments.

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A few weeks ago, Netflix announced it would make a TV adaptation of A. J. Quinnell’s Man on Fire, a novel which was famously turned into perhaps one of the definitive Denzel Washington movies, one which is also considered the late Tony Scott’s masterpiece. So what gives? Why improve on perfection? Could there possibly be a John Creasy that would be seen as an improvement on Denzel’s towering performance? But did you know that this movie wasn’t actually the first adaptation of Quinnell’s novel and that John Creasy’s adventures continued in book form despite his tragic end in Scott’s movie? In this episode of Revisited, we look back at one of the best action films of the 2000s and perhaps Denzel Washington’s most iconic role.

Flashback to the mid-eighties. Despite being about forty, Tony Scott was only just starting to move into features. The movie he was determined to make was Man on Fire, a violent revenge story based on author A.J. Quinnell’s novel. The novel entered around a retired American soldier, John Creasy, who’s become a broken-down alcoholic. He’s hired to be the bodyguard for the daughter of a wealthy textiles magnate living in Milan, Pinta. Despite his tortured past, Creasy finds a new purpose in protecting the child, to whom he becomes a surrogate father. When she’s kidnapped, Creasy takes several bullets trying to protect her, and he awakens from his coma to discover that her kidnappers violently murdered her. Creasy then embarks on a violent quest for vengeance, killing off a significant chunk of the Sicilian Mafia, only to live and fight another day in a series of novels Quinnell wrote.

The book was a bestseller, and Hollywood was keen to do a film version, and for Scott, it was a passion project. But disaster struck when his first feature, The Hunger, became a notorious critical and financial flop. Scott was removed from the project, and the producers hired a French director named Élie Chouraqui, who ended up filming an artsy version of the story that barely opened in theatres at all, despite an acclaimed performance by Scott Glenn as Creasy. It barely made half a million dollars and was received like a direct-to-video movie (you can actually watch the whole movie here). By contrast, Scott’s replacement project turned out to be Top Gun, which established him as an A-list director. Scott continued to be interested in directing a hardcore revenge drama, eventually turning his attention to an adaptation of Jim Harrison’s novella, Revenge, which starred Kevin Costner. His career continued, but Man on Fire was always in the back of his mind.

Flash forward to the 2000s. Tony Scott’s career was going strong, and eventually, when the notion to re-adapt the novel as a film was put forward, his name came up. Scott was interested but made many changes to the book with his chosen screenwriter, Brian Helgeland. Kidnappings in Italy had since become rare, but there was an epidemic of them in Mexico City; thus the change in locale. While the novel’s Creasy would live to fight another day, Scott and Helgeland decided to make their action film more of an epic tragedy, with Creasy the masterless samurai who dies a warrior’s death, sacrificing his life to save his young charge who, in a departure from the novel, wouldn’t meet as grim of a fate.

While Scott had wanted to cast Marlon Brando as Creasy in the 1980s, by then, he was obviously way too old and not remotely believable as a former special forces operative. Scott still wanted to cast him as Rayburn, but in the end, Christopher Walken got the role, which many critics count as one of his best. But who would play Creasy? All of the usual suspects were considered. Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, Robert De Niro, and Will Smith were all possibilities. But Scott ended up with a cooler actor – Denzel Washington. While now Washington’s casting seems like a no-brainer, he wasn’t an action guy then. His thing was prestige drama, although he’d jumped into a more action-driven role with Training Day and won an Oscar. He’d also starred in Crimson Tide for Scott, and the two liked each other a lot – but hardcore physical action wasn’t really his thing.

In the end, Washington wound up being inspired casting, and he’s always held the film up as one of his best vehicles, speaking admiringly of Tony Scott and his young co-star Dakota Fanning, who he would always single out as one of his favourite people to work with. The two are finally reuniting for The Equalizer 3. Washington trained hard in weapons to believably play an ex-operative, but he was just as convincing as the gone-to-seed, alcoholic Creasy. An action star might have given you an action-hero performance, but with Washington, the nuance and emotion of the role were the critical things, and since then, it’s become an iconic role for him.

He’s matched by Dakota Fanning, who was only nine years old, but delivered one of the most affecting child performances ever. The movie benefitted from a stacked supporting cast that included Mickey Rourke, who was cast against type as a sleazy lawyer, Radha Mitchell as the child’s mother, and superstar singer Mark Anthony as the father. Plus, there was Rachel Ticotin and Giancarlo Gianni as a few of Creasy’s allies. Still, best of all was Walken as his stalwart best buddy, Rayburn, who has the movie’s best line, “for Creasy, death is an art, and he’s about to paint his masterpiece”.

Tony Scott, who’d always been known for his highly stylized editing, went further than usual with Man on Fire, working with extensive filters and rapid-fire editing and using a chaotic score that included various references. First, there was Harry Gregson Williams’ score. He also sampled Michel Colombier’s score for Against All Odds, Clint Mansell’s score for Abandon, David Arnold’s score for Changing Lanes, plus tracks by Lisa Gerrard, who had contributed to his brother Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. The movie also extensively used Nine Inch Nails, with Trent Reznor receiving a Music Consultant credit, perhaps paving the way to his second career as a composer for film soundtracks.

The film was also bold in its onscreen violence, with Creasy using brutal torture on his opponents/victims. He cuts off fingers, blows off a hand with a shotgun, cuts off an ear, and, most memorably, places a bomb (which he detonates) in someone’s anus. Don’t mess with Creasy.

Funny thing, though – the film was only a mild financial success. It made about $77 million domestically and another $52 million internationally, meaning it recouped its budget, but it was on home video where the movie became a classic. It’s considered one of the best American action movies of the era. The action/thriller genre has become a favourite of Denzel’s fans, with him having a string of hits in the genre, including three more collaborations with Tony Scott before the director’s death – Deja Vu, a remake of Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable. Sadly, Tony Scott committed suicide in 2012, and all of us who love his movies miss him terribly. Man on Fire is up there with his best work, and while it might be passed in popularity by something like Top Gun, many consider this his most personal work and perhaps the best example of what made him one of the greatest action-thriller directors of all time. Rest in peace, sir.

This brings us back to the idea of Netflix doing a Man on Fire series. While Creasy lived in the novels, and a series could run for many seasons, I’d advise against it. You’ll never tell the story better than Tony Scott and writer Brian Helgeland did here, and the chances of casting a better Creasy than Denzel are nil. While Man on Fire was technically a remake, this classic film should be left alone.

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Almost sixty years ago, Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio made his feature directorial debut with the psychological drama Fists in the Pocket. Kavac Film recently acquired the remake rights to that film, and The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that it’s going to be made under the title Rosebushpruning. Kristen Stewart (Underwater), Elle Fanning (The Great), and Josh O’Connor (The Crown) have signed on to star in the film.

Karim Aïnouz, whose period drama Firebrand premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this month, will be directing Rosebushpruning from a screenplay by Efthimis Filippou (Dogtooth). Fists in the Pocket was about a young man suffering from epilepsy plotting the murders of his dysfunctional family.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Fists in the Pocket proved controversial at the Locarno Festival, where it had its premiere and was condemned by several major cinema figures, but was warmly received by younger critics and audiences, becoming a sleeper hit. In 2008, Italy’s Ministry of Culture placed it on its list of 100 films to be saved, a collection of films that had ‘changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978.’

Aïnouz had this to say about the remake project: “Marco Bellocchio’s astonishing debut, Fists in the Pocket, was released over 50 years ago and had a huge impact on Italian cinema and storytelling at the time. I’m excited to be collaborating with Efthimis Filippou to revisit this iconic work to create a contemporary parable about the death of the traditional patriarchal family — which I hope will be touching and provocative in equal measure. It’s a dream come true to be working with such a dynamic ensemble of actors that I have long admired to bring this explosive adaptation to audiences today.”

Rosebushpruning is expected to go into production sometime in the spring of 2024. Viola Fügen and Michael Weber are producing the film for The Match Factory, with MUBI providing financing.

Does Rosebushpruning sound interesting to you? Are you familiar with Fists in the Pocket? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Bellocchio is still directing films to this day. His most recent was the historical drama Kidnapped, which was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival this month.

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